He Waits
by thosedarndursleys
Summary: A look into Knockturn Alley’s whispering wizard


He Waits

Upon Saul Primmel's graduation from Hogwarts, had you asked where he saw himself in five years, he never would have entertained the thought of Knockturn Alley. Saul was a straight-O student—nothing came before his studies, especially not the foolishness known to take place at the shadier ends of both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Leading up to his graduation, Saul had seen himself traveling abroad and studying the Fae communities along the Icelandic border. He had seen himself writing books and making vast discoveries. He had seen himself using pixie dust to counteract the effects of the Cruciatus Curse or Splinching.

Not a fortnight had passed since Saul stepped off of the Hogwarts Express, however, that he met one Rita Skeeter.

Rita had been the tsunami for which Saul had never prepared. She drowned him in an instant—a flurry of split ends and knock off lipstick that took hold of his throat and pulled him under. She winked at him over a mug of butterbeer. Saul offered her a ring three months later.

The couple spent the majority of their engagement shacking up above Rita's second-floor office space in Knockturn Alley. It honestly hadn't been nearly as bad as Saul was led to believe, and he even found himself picking up shifts at Borgin and Burkes while Rita worked on her freelance columns. Saul would cover the rent during Rita's bouts of writer's block. He would attempt to combat her periodic episodes of self-doubt by spoiling her with trinkets and writing tools. Quills were Rita's favorite, and Saul was rather proud of himself when he surprised her with a Quick-Quotes Quill. Rita had looked at the plume lovingly before barricading herself in the bedroom once more. Saul had never understood why Rita chose to work from the bedroom during her writer's block periods, but he also chose not to fight it. Rita knew what would work best for her muse, and if Rita was happy, so was Saul.

Then Rita caught her Big Break.

She had heard of an embezzlement operation run out of the Coffin House—apparently necromancers are known for their loose lips, just don't ask Rita how she came about this knowledge. She never told Saul, and after nearly six months of betrothal, the man had learned to simply accept it.

As far as Rita's Big Break, however, her plan was simple: Saul would go in as a curious youth seeking an apprenticeship. He would rely on the scholarly aspects of his character to ask the proper questions and make the proper assumptions, and then he would report back to Rita as necessary. For her part, Rita would make herself scarce to discourage any prying eyes or paranoia on the part of the necromancers. Rita had explained the plan to Saul in painstaking detail one evening, and the morning after, Rita she had disappeared, leaving nothing but a rogue-stained note in her place.

Saul, while rather bemused about the entire situation, had accepted it willingly. He had never loved another as he loved Rita, and if spying on a local business is what it took to make her happy, Saul would do it.

As such, Saul's schedule took on a new rhythm of predictability. He would visit the shop in the evenings to shadow the owner for several hours, polishing, mixing, and transcribing whatever Mr. Luffman required. Saul would then leave the office as the sun began to rise and wander to a dilapidated batch of masonry near the Alley's outskirts. There he would find a rather charming beetle sitting between two bricks and, as instructed in his fiancé's note, provide any intel that he had come across during his shift. He always found a bit of self-satisfaction in his chest when he'd hear a satisfied click from the beetle. He took it as an atta boy, an Outstanding that he had received so often during his time at Hogwarts.

Saul had never stopped to wonder why the listening beetle couldn't nestle itself between two bricks at the Coffin House. He's heard it as a passing thought but never allowed it leverage in his mind. He continued his internship with the Necromancer for four months until Rita returned home. A smile was pasted on her candied lips, and her cloak was weighed down with the extra currency in its pockets.

That night, Saul fell to his knee in front of his lover and renewed his proposal. That same night, Rita pressed a kiss to his forehead and left without another word. Saul found her article in the _Daily_ _Prophet_ a week later, as well as a byline announcing Rita's new residence in a London flat.

From that moment on, Saul saved a cut-out of every column that Rita published. He saved the announcements of her success, as well as the questionable photos that were periodically published out of spite by rival journalists.

Saul, for all intents and purposes, never lost his love for Rita Skeeter. He attended her book readings and any press conferences where he assumed she would be. He assembled an album of her accomplishments and reviewed it daily.

Saul never traveled to study the Fae communities, and he never even endeavored to begin his novel. He did, however, develop quite the fascination with beetles shortly after Rita broke off their engagement.

And if Saul made a habit of whispering secrets into a crevice of brick and mortar whenever he felt particularly alone, no one else had to know.


End file.
